Sensex scales 13,000 points for first time

Mumbai: Sensex recorded its highest ever growth on Monday, at the end of its second quarter. As trading came to a close, the 30-share sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) was ruling at 13,024.26 points - up 117.45 points, or 0.91 percent, above Friday's close at 12,906.81 points.

While it was the highest closing level for the barometer index, it had earlier scaled its highest-ever intra-day level of 13,039.30 points. The previous intra-day peak for the key index was 12,994.45 points on Oct 17 and the highest-ever closing level was 12,928.18 points on Oct 16.

Data available with the exchange shows that the Sensex had gained 569.84 points, or 4.58 percent, over the past month, and a whopping 5,338.62 points, or 69.46 percent, over the past 52 weeks.

The index had a steady rise in the morning, but started falling a few hours into trading as investors looked at booking profits. But the final hour saw another bout of buying - notably by foreign funds - helping the Sensex to gain ground.

Among the Sensex shares, the rally was led by ICICI Bank, up 3.63 percent at 785.45, followed by Dr. Reddy's, up 2.88 percent at 751.40, and Bharti Airtel, up 2.78 percent at 541.95.

The losers, on the other hand, were led by Tata Morots, down 3.86 percent at 852.10, followed by Bharat Heavy Electricals, down 1.41 percent at 2,439.55 and Wipro Ltd, down 1.24 percent at 555.40.